Zachary Schaffer (Xaq Lan)

The movie wanted to be smart, witty, meta, existential, and relatable, which it sometimes was. Unfortunately, any enjoyment I could find was lost to a myriad of issues. The writing was lacking... REALLY LACKING. It attempted to be deep in a semi-esoteric that often ended up sounding almost condescending while also beint fluff. conversations between characters could get frustrarinf to listen to as I'd watchscene after scene that I wanted to immerse myself in only to hear one of the actors repeating the same word two or three times in one exchange. The story itself sometimes feels as thought it's just window dressing, I'll be it, unique and often interesting dressing. The film takes us through an array of happenings including an emergency situation in the family's town. There are definitely some chances for reflection, empathy, and asking yourself WWYD. We know quite early on Adam D has a strong fear of death. As the movie progresses, so does the topic of death itself. It becomes the real star of the film. By the last act of the film, if not sooner, discussions surrounding various aspects of death and dying have replaced the more versatile story we had watched unfold earlier in the film. They reaallllly nail it in. Adam is the one thing that kept me watching, talented as usual. I also enjoyed the kids, as they occasional chimed in with funny and interesting commentary and often helped push the plot forward. My main criticism of this film is that it feels as though it was written and possibly directed by an amateur student a film that has thought of ideas their whole life but hasn't executed before. I'm shocked watching it that there weren't reshoots when there were obviousoy redundant scenes, conversation, medicare acting, awkwar sequencing and more. Having recently seen Beux's Afraid, this movie reminded me of it in the fact that it had a very specific point it wanted to draw home, a personal one, and that that can sometimes for taking a movie and unforeseen and negative ways. I'm not comparing the two, but I definitely felt vague similarities in certain elements. All and all, I refer still being up because I just wanted to make my way to the end, only to be disappointed by the end, in an almost Lost kind of way (which is not a spoiler, but I think you'll see what I mean if you so choose to spend 2 hours on this. Happy watching everyone. - Xaq PS - Sorry if the writing quality, grammar, or vocab is not perfect. 5 AM insomnia review. Thanks for reading.